Hello there, I'm not used to post in this forum (but an avid warlock lurker) so I've figured this is the best place to ask the question I have.

I'm coming here to help my girlfriend, ele shaman (armory, don't mind the bad gems) but who can't speak english on her own.
We've done some research and (a lot of) theorycraft about her character, so I come here to share the results. Not that I want some hand-holding, but I just want to be SURE my conclusion are correct.

So, I've simmed her character through different scenarios, which I explain now :

So, my conclusion :
- On monotarget, whatever optimisation you choose make NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE. Variance here are simulation noise.
- On multitarget, keeping haste and mastery close gives the best result, but in an insignificant way. Here again no significant difference.

With plot reforge :
[pic was here]
Here again, even if difference are noticable, the spikes are difficult to understand. Can one really be so precise with reforge ?

What I ask of you : did I missed something ? Telling her to stay in a haste build seems the optimal think to do, but I'm willing to ask your confirmation, because I am well aware that simcraft gives only numbers. They are honest, but they are not telling everything.

Edit : still toying with the reforge plot.
Starting from my haste=mastery build, I got 336508 dps and this
[pic was here]
So, naively, I thought : "Well, if I reforge 1k haste into 1k Mastery, I should gain approximatively 3k DPS...

But, after the reforge, I got
[pic was here]
And...332709 dps. Yeah, I lost 3K dps, I really don't get it...

Personally I reforged and regemed to haste, due to the simcraft results, but I like the "play feeling" of the "mastery"-build better, even though with the "haste"-build I gain 10-20k DPS

If she wants to min/max the shaman and simcrafts suggests a "haste"-Build, then go for it on, and if the "haste"-build doesn't feel "right" try the mastery build

Haste VS Mastery builds are really a closed case at this point in the game. They are so dead even that Mastery turns to greater benefit simply due to the addition of cleave, hence why you see every Ele rocking Mastery gems even to the point of full BiS. Even at 570 ilvl when I ran sims last night I would only gain a small amount of around 3-5k DPS single target from dropping about 3k Mastery for Haste. Even then if I did that simcraft would possibly flip it on me next sim and say the reversal of what I just did is of more benefit.

As you gear up Haste will (by itself) get to a safe point where you don't really need much more. The average seeming to be between 33 and 35%. Granted this is pushing BiS gear, but the days of pushing high points of 44%+ Haste in ToT are very much over. At lower ilvls the values are obviously going to be a tad skewed and tweaking will be required to maximize output.

In regards to Shauni and his GF. Ran a sim and reforge plot for her character. She is fine right where she is at currently, this is because she is around that baseline 33-35% Haste that Ele Shamans are baselining at higher ilvls. CURRENTLY her only gain would be at around 2000 more Haste for a nice 1-2k DPS increase (not worth it don't even consider it). Once she gears up more and gains more Haste from her gear, the value of gemming Haste will decrease and she'll want to swap over to Mastery for better output.

So, uh... I just started Ele again because my guild didn't need a resto shaman. My gear is all from when I was resto so it all has spirit. That said, I can't for the life of me find any mail gear without spirit. Reforged down as much as possible with 0 spirit gems, my hit is at 17.5%. Are we just not able to get under hit cap?

So, uh... I just started Ele again because my guild didn't need a resto shaman. My gear is all from when I was resto so it all has spirit. That said, I can't for the life of me find any mail gear without spirit. Reforged down as much as possible with 0 spirit gems, my hit is at 17.5%. Are we just not able to get under hit cap?

OFC we are, try looking for a 2h staff without spirit sha of pride or siegecrafter blackfuse to be exact. Adding link to your armory would be helpfull. Patiently wait for tier tokens t16. 4/5 pieces are spiritless. With gear, consider going fully 5/5 with t16 great sockets and stats overall (even shoulders - tho worst stats possible, gives most haste on this slot with this ilvl i had seen so far). Spiritless items to consider - Thok ring, have great stats there - Siegecrafter blackfuse, spiritless boots (probably the only spiritless item that is droping from a boss in SOO. is not a tier slot item and definitly worth to look at,).
If by chance you will get all of those, i guarantee that you will be most likely heavy spirit/hit rating starved

I got my hit down to a reasonable level now (I can actually go UNDER hit cap if I wanted!) and got up to a 526 ilevel. I'm doing a few thousand under my simmed dummy DPS right now (I gotta manage my shocks better. I'm doing well not clipping FS, but I'm wasting fulm charges) and Simcraft is reaaaally liking haste for me right now. Quick in yellows, Reckless in reds and whatever haste/spirit is in blues and ALL reforging into haste after hit cap and my haste is about 1.5k rating lower than my mastery, but Simcraft just barely scales it equal to mastery now.

- - - Updated - - -

Originally Posted by Glurp

Does anyone know if it is possible to make a Weakaura that can show how many enemy targets are in range of my current target to be hit by Chain Lightning?

Also in a situation where you don't know how long a fight will be is it better to go with or without the Fire Elemental glyph?

Unsure of the WA thing, but I'm under the impression that Fire Ele glyph is only good on fights where you need on demand burst frequently. Immersius is a fight it's good for and I'm sure there are others.

I have a few questions about Ele, is it worth dropping a 567 piece so I can get the 2 piece bonus from an lfr piece (leggings specifically)

Also, is Haste > Crit > Mastery better than Haste > Mastery > Crit for Challenge Modes, due to the Chain Lightning being able to crit on each jump, and the prevalence of that ability in Challenge Modes?

I was randomly on the shadow priest guide and found something really helpful. I wish the ele shaman guide had it. I'm stuck on my shaman and not sure what to shoot for.

General logic of stat priorities at various gear levels (Shadow priest guide on MMO Champion forums):

1. If you are below the 8085 haste breakpoint or not hit capped, you should not worry about relative crit / mastery imbalance, its very small and insignificant compared to hit/haste breakpoints

2. If your item level is below say... ~510 you should probably just regard Crit and Mastery as being equal - and both being significantly worse than Int > Hit > Haste

3. If you have the above but do not have 2pT15 (or 4pT15) you should consider crit better than haste once you are above 8085, but not in range of 10125 haste

4. If you have 1 and 2 covered, and have 2pT15 (or 4pT15) you should consider mastery and crit to be a personal choice

5. If you have 1, 2, and 4 covered, and have Lei Shen's 100% crit trinket, and are making use of it to apply long-lasting 100% crit chance DoTs, you should consider mastery to be a clear winner.

Comparing shadow priests to elemental shamans is like comparing apples and oranges. Shadow priests are much more dependent on their DoTs for damage. We aren't (hardcasts all the way!).

Originally Posted by Drikkink

So, uh... I just started Ele again because my guild didn't need a resto shaman. My gear is all from when I was resto so it all has spirit. That said, I can't for the life of me find any mail gear without spirit. Reforged down as much as possible with 0 spirit gems, my hit is at 17.5%. Are we just not able to get under hit cap?

Spirit is, unfortunately, on almost every piece of caster mail, and most of the ones you'll find without it are just part of the tier. Once you start switching gear over to pieces that lack spirit, it is possible to drop under the hit cap, so just be mindful of that.

Originally Posted by Valex

I have a few questions about Ele, is it worth dropping a 567 piece so I can get the 2 piece bonus from an lfr piece (leggings specifically)

Also, is Haste > Crit > Mastery better than Haste > Mastery > Crit for Challenge Modes, due to the Chain Lightning being able to crit on each jump, and the prevalence of that ability in Challenge Modes?

I'd have to say no, in regards to the gear question. 567 -> 528 is a pretty harsh drop, even if it is for a set bonus. If it were a flex or normal piece, that'd be a different story.

I can't really answer the CM question with any confidence, though. Probably haste > mastery > crit, if I had to guess. It's just what we scale best with.

questions about the healer amp trinket:
1. It stacks with the DPS amp trinket, right? Additive or multiplicative?

It likely does stack, but I don't know how, nor do I know why you would even want to. If you are a DPS, you shouldn't be taking this trinket over a healer (unless they all have it or don't need it). Double amp isn't even close to BiS either.

If you are a healer, why are you using the DPS amp trinket, and who are the poor DPS casters you took it from so I can go comfort them?

Originally Posted by Drikkink

2. Do HST, HTT, Ancestral Guidance or the Flame Shock glyph proc it?

Intellect proc only goes off for people actually specced as healers. If you're a DPS using the healer amp, the only thing you're getting out of it is the amp. No intellect proc.

It likely does stack, but I don't know how, nor do I know why you would even want to. If you are a DPS, you shouldn't be taking this trinket over a healer (unless they all have it or don't need it). Double amp isn't even close to BiS either.

If you are a healer, why are you using the DPS amp trinket, and who are the poor DPS casters you took it from so I can go comfort them?

Intellect proc only goes off for people actually specced as healers. If you're a DPS using the healer amp, the only thing you're getting out of it is the amp. No intellect proc.

The amp trinket is better than the cleave for sure. Might be better than the multistrike as well. Doubt it's better than garrosh's. but it might be.

Another thing that gets me is the general chat when inside the Garrison. It totally reminds me of every prison film I've ever watched. The prisoners confined to their cells are talking to each other through the walls. Their chat is mostly pointless, vulgar and revolving around stuff they ll do once they get out. This is EXACTLY the content of every Garrison chat I've ever had to tolerate.